The New Raw Roster
Here’s a look at the Raw roster with their overall selection number in (parentheses) and my thoughts on each selection.
The choices were made by Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon and General Manager Mick Foley.
Announce team: Michael Cole, Corey Graves & David Otunga.
(1) Seth Rollins – The best performer in the company. He was my wrestler of the year in 2014 and 2015. He might not win it this year due to missing five months, but he’s such a great all-around performer. As good as he is as a heel, he might be even better as a face one day.
(3) Women’s Champion Charlotte – She’s been very impressive in her first year on the main roster. Charlotte is definitely a building block for the women’s division whois in the prime of her career.
(5) Finn Balor – It’s about time! That’s what a lot of people thought when they saw this. The crowd reaction for him was very strong, which is a great sign. Balor could be one of the top two or three faces of Raw or perhaps turn heel since his buddies Gallows & Anderson were drafted by Raw as well.
(6) Roman Reigns – Would he have been picked higher if he wasn’t suspended for a Wellness Policy violation? Absolutely. He was booed a lot when his name was mentioned. I really hope WWE turns him heel when he returns on Sunday. No reason to keep him as a face.
(8) Brock Lesnar – Since he will only wrestle in four to five matches in a year, Lesnar is not a top five pick. It also doesn’t help that he had two drug failures prior to his last UFC fight. When he’s on TV, he’s certainly a draw and there aren’t that many of them left.
(10) Tag Team Champions The New Day (Big E, Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston) – I’m so glad they were drafted together. Their act is one of the best things about WWE programming in the last few years. Do the break-up in another year or two. No need to rush it.
(11) Sami Zayn – I like this pick a lot because Zayn’s one of the best in-ring performers in WWE. He could also thrive as a main event babyface if they really get behind him. Some character development would help him too.
(13) Sasha Banks – The second woman off the board, who is likely going to beat Charlotte for the Women’s Title at SummerSlam. Banks is the “Legit Boss” that is a legit all-around star who is still not even in her prime. Very bright future for her.
(15) Chris Jericho – Now in his mid-40s, Jericho is one of the oldest guys in WWE. He’s still productive, though. The heel act he’s been doing has given him some new life. There are questions of how long he’ll keep wrestling, though.
(16) United States Champion Rusev with Lana – As of this moment, he is the only singles male champion on the Raw brand. He’s better holding the title than he is without it, so I hope the reign continues for a while. Rusev could become a main eventer within a year or two.
(18) Kevin Owens – I thought this was really low for a guy that’s as good as Owens. Perhaps it was a way to get him to be even more angry as a character. Also, it should be noted that he’s still on the same show as his real-life best friend and on-screen rival Sami Zayn. Nothing wrong with that. Love their matches.
(20) Enzo Amore & Big Cass – Good pick for the tag team division. They are future tag team champions for sure. Cass has long-term potential as a singles star, but he’s better off in a team at this point.
(21) Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson – Their alliance with AJ Styles ends at Battleground. As noted earlier, they are now on the same show with Finn Balor, who was the Bullet Club leader with them in New Japan. They’re likely going to be future tag team champions as well.
(23) Big Show – The big man is in his 40s and near the end of his career. He’s currently a face that could turn heel at any time since he turns more than anybody. The likely WrestleMania 33 match with Shaquille O’Neal likely means he’ll be relevant heading into next year.
(25) Nia Jax – She was the third NXT pick. Jax only has a couple of years experience, but she’s the biggest woman in all of WWE, so it’s easy to see why they felt it was time to call her up. A role as a dominant heel makes sense, although she could work as a face too.
(26) Neville – He’s been injured for over three months with a broken ankle. Neville’s a high flyer that is a solid midcard wrestler. I’m not sure if he’ll get past that level, but he’s great for the spot he’s in.
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(28) Cesaro – What took so long? That was my reaction when I saw it. One of the best in-ring performers in the company that should be used better. Cesaro did an interview on WWE Network where he was upset about being on Raw with Stephanie. I’m not sure if it was in character or if it was legit, but it was awesome. It seems like it was legit, although they could certainly use it for a storyline too.
(30) Sheamus – That’s pretty low for a former multi-time World Champion. Sheamus has had a tough time fitting in this year. He’s better off as a heel bully. It’s a natural role for him.
(31) Golden Truth (Goldust & R-Truth) – They’re a team in their 40s that barely wins matches, yet they got picked right around the middle of the draft. It doesn’t make sense, but that’s WWE “logic” for you sometimes.
(33) Titus O’Neil – I’ve been impressed with him in the last couple of months because he’s shown more aggressiveness.
(35) Paige – She has been forgotten for much of the year, which is a shame. The good thing is she’s still in her early 20s and has plenty of time to be one of the best women in the company. Stop with the endless heel and face turns, though. It has done more harm than good.
(36) Darren Young with Bob Backlund – Young is going for the IC Title on Sunday, yet he was picked this late after some people that are barely on television. Weird. I like him as a performer. Good to see him getting a legit shot with Backlund doing well as a coach.
(38) Sin Cara – Just a role player at this point in his career. I don’t see him receiving a push any time soon.
(40) Jack Swagger – Even though he’s a former World Champion, he is barely on television. I think of him as a guy that could thrive in a tag team if he can find the right partner.
(42) The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray & D-Von) – I’m glad that they are still a team because they’re veterans that help the younger teams. Why did they get picked way later than the Golden Truth, though? That’s why this whole thing was weird to me.
(44) Summer Rae – A woman’s wrestler with potential. That’s what Summer is after being on the main roster for a couple of years without doing much. She’s a cocky heel that is in love with herself. An easy gimmick to hate.
(46) Mark Henry – The man formerly known as “Sexual Chocolate” is probably the guy most likely to retire this year. He’s been around for 20 years. I don’t see him doing much.
(48) Braun Strowman – In terms of long-term main event potential, he’s way ahead of a lot of people picked in front of him. Since he’s on the show opposite of Wyatt Family leader Bray Wyatt, he’ll be on his own. WWE boss Vince McMahon likely loves him since he’s so tall, so they’ll probably give him a shot to see what he can do in the near future.
(50) Bo Dallas – He was picked separately from his Social Outcasts buddies. He’s a young guy with a chance to be something really good if they get behind him. He’s hurt a bit by being a short guy that isn’t that athletic in terms of doing big moves.
(52) Shining Stars (Primo & Epico) – They have had one match in several months as well as several terrible videos telling us about who they are. I don’t see this gimmick doing well.
(54) Alicia Fox – Too many heel and face turns over ten years have hurt her status quite a bit. She’s just there for roster depth at this point.
(56) Dana Brooke – It’s surprising that they took this long to draft her since she’s in a PPV match on Sunday while many people picked in front of her are barely doing anything. The company likes her in terms of her look and athletic background as fitness competitor before she was in WWE.
(58) Curtis Axel – He’s on the same show with his buddy Bo Dallas. Axel has fallen very far after being the Intercontinental Champion three years ago. Team him with Swagger and see what they can do.
Best Pick: Kevin Owens at 18. I think he’s a top five performer in the company. Why would he drop so far? As an annoying heel character, he’ll use that in his promos and he’ll have a chip on his shoulder.
Worst Pick: Golden Truth at 31. Too early for them. Nia Jax and Big Show going before Cesaro is pretty bad too.
Biggest Surprise: Cesaro at 28. I really think this might be an angle to try to move him up the roster. If not, then I’m just confused as to why it took so long to pick one of the best in-ring performers in WWE.
Best New Feud: Rollins vs. Balor should be amazing. That’s the one that stands out the most.
Raw Roster Grade: B
It’s a good roster that benefited from having more picks than Smackdown. Raw’s strengths are on the heel side of the roster, the women’s roster is better than Smackdown and they have better tag teams as well.
The main issue I see is the lack of top babyfaces. Finn Balor could fill that role, but it’s hard to know how popular he will be on the main roster. Roman Reigns is a face that gets booed, Brock Lesnar is a face that is absent more than he is around, and I’m not sure if they will get behind Sami Zayn to the point that he becomes the top face.
I assume that they might add some more talents to the roster either as “free agents” (calling up NXT talent in the next few months) or adding in some former WWE performers to provide depth.
In a month or two, we will know if that grade will be bumped up from a B or if things get worse. It’s really hard to say right now.
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